Chapter VIII - The Crescent War Part II
With the beginning of 1942 it was time for some major changes in Norway. The expansion of the empire and the upkeep of European balance wasn't going according to Haakon's wishes. Things needed to speed up, as Germany was securing itself world dominance more and more with each day passing. Therefore, new ministers entered the Norwegian cabinet and their less useful predecessors were sent home quickly. Everything was set for the Norwegian army to stomp Arabia into the ground and move on to bigger targets.
The New Year's offensive conducted by Fleischer and his staff would throw back any possible relief for the 4 cavalry divisions trapped in the opening weeks of the war. Arabian troops were rendered almost helpless in front of the modern Norwegian tactics and weapons. While the hot sands of the desert still slowed them down, the King's Army would still reach Riyadh after a couple of easy battles against men, that were mostly armed with swords.
And then it happened: Hashimete Arabia officially surrendered to Norway. Haakon VII's decision was to create an Arabian semi-independet puppet government with Norway keeping full control over the armed forces of the Arabian peninsula. That at least brought 7 additional divisions into Norway's manpower pool and they would soon see some action.
Now Greece wasn't the only revanchist nation seeking it's fortune in the Norwegian alliance. On April 8th, 1942 the Argentinan Foreign Minister invited Haakon for 'talks'. These led to the great Triple Axis Oslo-Athens-Buenos Aires. La Plata suffered at the hands of the Syndicalists in South America and needed friends in order to keep itself save. Haakon promised help under the condition, that La Plata first helped him...
The war between Denmark and the Union of Britain had lasted for years already. The powerful fleet of the British Syndicalists was not only able to defend it's islands from the united navies of Mitteleuropa and the Entente, but also the starve Denmark into submission. Meanwhile they had no means to make a landing on the shores of Germany's small northern neighbour. Denmark itself was not accepted by either Mitteleuropa nor the Entente, though leaving it in a quite miserable situation.
For the fact, that their people were related anyway and under the pretend to protect them, Haakon VII. officially demaned Christian X. to give him the crown of Denmark. And with that, the two nations finally rejoined in one empire again. It was time to demand a favor of Britain, though. Norway took off a small burden from the shoulders of the Syndicalists and they were willing to hand him Lerwick for thanks.
With all the funds and industrial capacity achieved by this diplomatic act, it was now possible of the Norwegian Crown to launch multiple research projects at once. Keeping up with the continental European powers would be difficult and modern technology could be the only salvation in this battle.
The whole Royal Army and the Crown Colony's Army of Arabia were transported towards Greece. Fleischer - for his brilliant service in the East - was promoted to the rank of a General. 14 division were now ready to assist the 14 Greek divisions at the Greco-Bulgarian border. La Platan troops were expected to arrive as soon as war would break loose. But why Bulgaria? To Haakon, it was easy: Defeat Bulgaria and the Ottoman's have a 2-front war, defeat the Ottomans and you gain Albania, gain Albania and you can destroy Serbia, destroy Serbia and you can defeat Romania, defeat Romania... and the Austro-Hungarian lands are not safe anymore. "Just like dominos..." Haakon stated often, when talking about the Balkans and Europe.